Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars are the perfect spring dessert, where tender, buttery cake meets sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb.
Every once in awhile, I dare myself to just chuck out all the loose recipes I have stashed away to try “some day”. Because keeping them organized can be a royal pain.
But then…I wouldn’t be able to enjoy and share some pretty wonderful recipes that have caught my eye over the years.
Like these Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars. This recipe is such a great spring treat!
I think strawberries are just the perfect rhubarb partner, and can’t let spring go by without making my mom’s Super Simple Rhubarb Sauce, an Old-Fashioned Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp, and refreshing Rhubarb Mojitos.
Check out ALL my rhubarb recipes here.
And for my Rhubarb 101 over at The Pioneer Woman‘s site, go here!
These bars are full of butter, giving wonderful flavor and moist, tender texture. I love how the sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb play with the buttery crumb.
Our daughters absolutely love these bars. They make a sweet little after-school spring treat near the end of the school year. And I have to admit, they make a great little breakfast!
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Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars
Ingredients
for the streusel:
- 1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted, plus room temperature butter for pan
- 3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour
for the bars:
- 1/2 lb. rhubarb, cut into 1/2'' pieces
- 1/2 lb. strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/4" thick
- 2 T. light brown sugar
- 1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour, divided
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1-1/2 c. powdered sugar, plus more for dusting finished bars
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9'' square baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2'' overhang on 2 sides. Butter and flour parchment paper and pan, tapping out the excess flour. Set aside.
for the streusel:
Whisk together the butter, brown sugar, and salt. Add flour and cut with a rigid pastry cutter or fork until large crumbs form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
for the bars:
In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of the flour. In another medium bowl, whisk the remaining 1-1/4 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. With mixer on low, beat in vanilla, then flour mixture. Spread batter in prepared pan. Top with rhubarb and strawberry mixture, then top with prepared streusel. If you like to have some of the pretty red of the rhubarb and strawberries show on top (I do!), poke a few pieces up through the streusel.
Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a bit of moist crumbs attached, about 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and, using the parchment paper overhang, lift cake from pan. Cut into bars and dust with powdered sugar. Serve as is, or with some freshly whipped and sweetened cream...so lovely!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1620Amount Per Serving: Calories: 212
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Hungry for more rhubarb? Check out a couple very special family recipes using rhubarb:
This post was originally published April 2102 and has been a popular reader favorite. Some of the photographs and text were updated June 2017.
hey girl- these bars look so yummy!
I just read your Rhubarb 101 post and it was so informative!! I must say I’ve never used rhubarb before but I’ve been wanting to try it and these crumb bars look like the perfect place to start! :)
Bonjour; pourriez vous me donner la recette en gramme s’il vous plait
Merci beaucoup
Made this today but with rhubarb and apple. The recipe was easy to follow and it turned out perfect. Thanks
Beautiful combo, love it! So glad you liked this recipe – thanks for coming back to let me know. :)
Can I use frozen rhubarb and frozen strawberry”s
Brenda,
These look amazing, but what if I want to make a large sheet pan or jelly pan full of these bars? Should I just double the recipe and bake it a little longer?
Hi Margie – I have not played around with different sizes of pans for this recipe, so I can’t say for sure. But I would think that should work fine. Please let me know if you try it.
I double the recipe and made them in a 9X13 inch pan. Very full and the center did not get done. Next time I will put them in a jelly roll pan. The outsides that did get done were delicious.
Made these tonight–they are so yummy!! Thanks for the great recipe!
This is a beautiful recipe and your pictures are stunning and clear. The Strawberries are a good food to take fat off the belly. We used your recipe in our diet group and it was a winner. The strawberries are the secret.
http://recipetoloseweight.blogspot.com/2014/04/lose-weight-with-strawberries-how-one.html
I’m so glad to hear you liked this, thanks for coming back to let me know!
Thank you Brenda for all the great rhubarb recipes. Have a wonderful weekend!
I’ve never cooked with rhubard before, but my stepfather has a ton in his garden during the spring. I’ll have to steal some and make these. Thanks for the recipe!
Excellent! I want to bake a brownies like this ,its so yummy!
Absolutely amazing… never though that rhubarb could be that sweet! I have learnt a new thing now and is not willing to stop soon. Thanks:)
Made it! Can wait to eat it now.
These look so delicious! It’s certainly time for strawberry and rhurbarb anything!
Just gorgeous! Strawberry Rhubarb is one of my favorite desserts. I love that you made this into a coffee cake – must try!
Hi Brenda,
I just saw your crumb bars on Tasty Kitchen and had to pop over to tell you how beautiful they are! I’ve never met a crumb bar I didn’t love, and I could easily go for one right now with my morning coffee :).
Just started peeking around your blog and it looks lovely so I can’t wait to dive in!
Yum! I love rhubarb! It’s been such a long time since I’ve had any. My mom used to grow it in the garden, but we’ve moved far south, and now I’m not even sure it grows here. You have me pining for it though. . . . I know I’ve seen packs of it at the grocery store. I’ll have to check! Thanks for bringing back a “retro” recipe from your pile – I have the same situation going on in my kitchen drawer!
we had something similar to this at school today… but yours looks SO MUCH BETTER!! i want this noowww
I am still not a big fan of rhubarb and this is the second post this week I’ve seen with these bars. I have to tell you what I told the other blogger and friend, that paired with the strawberries I’m sure I could learn to love it. Beautiful looking dessert Brenda.
If you’re especially not thrilled about rhubarb in the first place, a good place to start is pairing it with strawberries. I like it with strawberries or without, but the berries add sweetness and prettiness.
I’ve never made a crumb cake with Rhubarb, only ice cream and it was delicious. This looks so good and the recipe sounds easy. I’m saving this to try sometime soon.
Thanks for sharing.
Rhubarb ice cream? Hmmmm…haven’t had that before. Sounds delicious with cream, though! So nice to hear from you again, Vicki. :)